1 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:07,680 Good morning Rabbit Bible. We're going to be in the book of 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:09,680 John. Apologies for the feedback. 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:16,280 It's coming out of my brain. We're going to be in the chapter 4 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,000 6-7 and eight of the book of John. 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:19,920 We're actually going to what I want to do today. 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,160 Bear with me. I want to highlight three things 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,760 that's that really came alive for me out of the book of John 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,600 and prepping to hopefully someday be back in South Africa 9 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,280 to be able to preach. I was sort of hop skipping and 10 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:35,800 jumping through John and God was ministering to me. 11 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,120 I know it's because of and it was through the experiences in 12 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:42,160 the Middle East. I apologize for that, but that's 13 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,480 how and where God unpacked his word. 14 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:48,120 And I simply want to spend the next half hour showing what I'm 15 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:50,360 showing you, what I've seen. That's all right. 16 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,920 So these are the three portions. So the first in John 6 verse 35 17 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,520 says, then Jesus declared, I'm the bread of life. 18 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:00,400 Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. 19 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,879 If you turn over to Chapter 7 verse 37, on the last and 20 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:07,680 greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud 21 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,320 voice, let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 22 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,640 And then finally in John 8 verse 12, when Jesus spoke again to 23 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:18,440 the people, he said, I'm the light of the world. 24 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,960 Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have 25 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:24,680 the light of life. And I want to look at those 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,440 three things, Jesus explaining how he's the bread of life, how 27 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,920 he's living water and he's the lights and the darkness. 28 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,760 And I want to unpack those 3 today because essentially that's 29 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,360 how God sort of journeyed it to us through our time stuck in a 30 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,320 war zone. So for, yeah, for those of you 31 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,320 who don't know, we were invited to go over RT Kendall was 32 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:49,880 speaking in the Middle East and he was, he's 90 years old and he 33 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,040 was set to, to preach 9 times in five days. 34 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:59,400 On the 4th day, war broke out and everything changed. 35 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,560 And so because we were bunkered down, they locked the borders, 36 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:04,720 they locked the airspace, and no one could go anywhere. 37 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,120 There's no coming or going. And we had some really good 38 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,440 times together and we had some incredible ministry moments with 39 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,080 those around us. But there was a moment when I 40 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,040 was sitting and turning to RT and you asked me, he's like, 41 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,600 what do you think God is doing through all of this? 42 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,360 And I immediately had a reply because God has spoken to me. 43 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,520 I felt in terms of the reason and what he was wanting to do 44 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,240 there. And it, it came out in ACS Lewis 45 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,120 quote where essentially CS Lewis says that God whispers to us in 46 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,640 our pleasures. He speaks to us in our seasons, 47 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,440 but he shouts to us in our storms. 48 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:40,240 And then it it ends, says Lewis ends that quote by saying it is, 49 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,720 it is God's megaphone to rouse the sleeping world. 50 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:46,840 The storm is God's megaphone to rouse the sleeping world. 51 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,280 And I said to RT, I said, actually, I would change that. 52 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,640 And I'll say storms God's megaphone to rouse a sleeping 53 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:58,760 church because I felt that God was wanting to wake me up, that 54 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,160 I'd become comfortable and cozy and He wanted to shake off the 55 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,320 dust. And us being there was part of 56 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,840 this process that He was going to get us through and it. 57 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,920 And He did so by sort of unpacking these three elements 58 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,880 in John 6, 7:00 and 8:00. And he did it because what what 59 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,800 had happened was right at the very beginning RT was in, in 60 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:20,920 before war had broken out. He was really laboring the point 61 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:24,680 of us waking up to the fact that God's presence is so near, but 62 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,080 we're so oblivious to the fact that he wants more of us than we 63 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,000 want of him. And so it it really challenged 64 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,920 me and I did decided because we were living in a home like a 65 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,360 typical Middle Eastern home that had a room on the roof. 66 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:39,840 So I decided, you know what I'm going to do? 67 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,200 I'm going to follow suits like Saints before me for thousands 68 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:44,440 of years have done in the Middle East. 69 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:46,800 I'm going to have my quiet times up on the roof. 70 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,120 You can oversee the city, praying for the city. 71 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:51,760 But basically what I thought God would say was not just to read 72 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,600 Scripture, but to pray Scripture and that he would highlight on 73 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,080 Scripture for me. And you know, kind of like 74 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,560 wonder saying highlighted the spleen. 75 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,520 Praying into the spleen. I felt that God said, you know, 76 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,320 I am the bread of life. You know, the Bible says give us 77 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:07,400 this day, Our Daily Bread. It's not just talking about 78 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,840 material stuff, but it's talking about that which I need today. 79 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,280 He would be my daily bread. He is the bread of life and I 80 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,120 was to look for that. And so here I am up on the 81 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,560 rooftop, just like Daniel and Joseph and David and all the 82 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,440 Saints before me sitting there having my quiet times and I want 83 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,560 to highlight some of the things that God showed me through that 84 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,880 and specifically some of them. The times what Raw touched on 85 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,720 last week and the first one that I want to jump into is in One 86 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,280 Kings 19. You, you're welcome to turn 87 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:36,520 there, But essentially the back story to 1 Kings 19, is this guy 88 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:38,280 larger? You might have heard of him, one 89 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:42,160 of the great prophets of old. He had also been through the 90 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,240 mill. So he had faced famine, He had 91 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:48,000 faced drought, he'd faced death and then he faced war. 92 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,240 Essentially the queen Jezebel declared war on him. 93 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,120 He said I will find you and I will kill you. 94 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:55,440 And so he hottails it out of there. 95 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,640 He spends 40 days and 40 nights running away from Jezebel. 96 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,320 And then eventually we found in one Kings 19, verse 9, it says 97 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,840 that he went into a cave and spent the night. 98 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,280 Now I revisited this because Raw said last week, are you 99 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:12,000 journeying in the dark without Jesus? 100 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:14,040 And there's a little bit of that going on here. 101 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,720 So I want to show you what's what God said to me in this and 102 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:21,400 what I was praying for. So verse 9 of 1 Kings 19 says, 103 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,320 then he went into a cave and spent the night and the word of 104 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,440 the Lord came to him. What are you doing here, Elijah? 105 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,320 And he replied, I've been very zealous for the Lord God 106 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,000 Almighty. The Israelites have rejected 107 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,200 your covenant, torn down your altars and put your prophets to 108 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,120 death with the sword. I'm the only one left and now 109 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,760 they're trying to kill me too. The Lord God said go out and 110 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,320 stand on the mountain and the presence of the Lord for the 111 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:50,240 Lord is about to pass by. I'm sitting here last week 112 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:51,760 Sunday. I'm going like, Oh my gosh, 113 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:58,200 Rory's been reading my mail. I'm about to pass by. 114 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,200 Last week, if you weren't here, Rory spoke about the disciples 115 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,520 in the storm and the presence of God passed by. 116 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,200 And he said this is kind of what Stephen and Kathy were going 117 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,120 through. I'm like, actually, that's what 118 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:10,520 God was speaking to me on the rooftop. 119 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,640 And he asked the question, why did he pass by us? 120 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:15,520 Because that is how his glory comes past. 121 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,200 And it's this invitation for us to lay hold of the bread of 122 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,560 life, to feast on him and what he has so that he can be our 123 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,120 resource and our strength. But like Wonder said, yeah, we'd 124 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,120 love to do it ourselves. Let me just control this war. 125 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,600 But the said God says lay a hold of me and he said the same thing 126 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,760 to the disciples and essentially says the same thing to Elijah. 127 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:38,920 So he says, go out, stand on the mountain and the presence of the 128 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,080 Lord for the Lord is about to pass by the next verse. 129 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,800 Then a voice said to him, what are you doing here Elijah? 130 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,640 Now you might think I'm just rereading the same portion, but 131 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,440 what happens is he says, what are you doing here Elijah? 132 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,480 And Elijah gives all his reasons, then he passes by and 133 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,360 then he says, what are you doing, Elijah? 134 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,760 And Elijah repeats exactly the same word for word. 135 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:02,600 He says, I've been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. 136 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:04,680 The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down the 137 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:06,560 altars, put your prophets to death with a sword. 138 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:08,640 I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me too. 139 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,200 I want to take a little bit of a step back because this is Elijah 140 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,520 we're talking about. I think people will know the 141 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,200 name of Elijah in heaven. They might most probably not 142 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,160 know my name in heaven. He's like one of the greats, 143 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,120 right? But if I can be so bold as to 144 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:32,240 say, Elijah is whinging, he's whining, he's grumbling. 145 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:37,400 He's just had the the very presence, the manifest presence 146 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:41,680 of God Almighty pass in front of his very own eyes. 147 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,000 And then he asks the same question and gives the same 148 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,640 answer. You don't know what I'm going 149 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,920 through and the Wi-fi's down, you know. 150 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:59,040 See, we can't control what we go through in the Middle East, but 151 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,280 we can control how we respond. What are you doing here? 152 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:08,320 Elijah Winch passes by. What are you doing here, Elijah 153 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,040 Winch? Look at what God does in 154 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,040 response to his grumbling. Verse 15. 155 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,560 The Lord said to him, go back the way you came and go to the 156 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,720 desert in Damascus. When you get there, anoint 157 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,120 Hazarayal, king of the Aram, anoint Jehu son of Nimashi king 158 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:28,960 of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shafat from Abel Mahala to 159 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:36,480 succeed you as prophet sitting in the in the desert in a war 160 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,880 zone. And you're saying to me, what 161 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:43,159 are you doing here? Our presence is near. 162 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:46,360 The Bible says he is close to those who mourn. 163 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:50,440 He's close to those going through a valley. 164 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,240 What are you doing here? And then, then I'll read that 165 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:56,760 line. Go back the way you came. 166 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,720 I said, Lord, I don't want to go back the way I came. 167 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,200 I don't want to be in the midst of this and go home completely 168 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,280 unchanged. You know, if we were there for 169 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,400 one day or 21 days, nothing would have changed emotionally 170 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:12,760 and physically. But the difference between being 171 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,120 there one day and 21 days, I was saying, Lord, would there be a 172 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,720 radical change spiritually? May I encounter you? 173 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,320 Because when Elijah encountered the presence of God and did 174 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,680 nothing with it, continued whinging and grumbling and 175 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:35,280 moaning, it was as if God said, OK, then your season is over, go 176 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,600 and anoint Elijah to succeed you as prophet. 177 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,040 Chatting to Neko Fanimova, he was saying he was reads through 178 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,280 these daily devotionals and he said on the day that we left for 179 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,640 the Middle East, there was just this tiny little portion for One 180 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,720 Samuel 1734. It's out of the new King James 181 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,480 Version where Daniel was busy talking to Saul about what 182 00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:58,120 happened when he was looking after the sheep. 183 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,920 And there's this half verse that Nico shared with me. 184 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:08,120 He said, and there came a lion, and there came a lion on the day 185 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:12,000 that we're now heading off to the Middle East, none, none the 186 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,200 wiser, the war that's about to break out. 187 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:16,920 And God says to him, and there came a lion. 188 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,680 And if you read the little devotional, it essentially says, 189 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:24,920 here's David minding his own business. 190 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:31,480 And there came a lion. And if David had not engaged 191 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,240 with that line, if David had run like Elijah or like Elijah had 192 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,840 run, I don't think we'd even know his name. 193 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,720 Because the guy says underneath there, the lion and the bear 194 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,320 prepared him to face Goliath, and Goliath prepared him to be 195 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,400 king of Israel. So when David saw a lion, God 196 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:53,520 saw a kingmaker. When Elijah saw this queen who 197 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,840 wanted his head, God saw a kingmaker. 198 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,320 When the disciples were in the storm, all they saw was the 199 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,440 possibility of drowning. But God said, I'm going to make 200 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,000 you fishers of men. I'm going to raise you up to 201 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,760 change the world. You need to go through this. 202 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:23,960 And there came a lion, and there came divorce. 203 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:30,520 And there came a phone call and there came a loss of hearing. 204 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,280 And there came a business that was collapsing. 205 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:39,720 What are you doing here, Elijah? My presence will pass by. 206 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,120 What are you doing here, Elijah? Are you whinging? 207 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,760 Are you groaning? Are you moaning? 208 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,120 Are you listing all the reasons why we're you know, it's easy 209 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,200 for you to say. You just don't understand. 210 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,080 Your life is perfect. My life is falling apart. 211 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,240 Or you're laying hold of the God who's passing by. 212 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:05,640 Now compare apples with apples. Go to larger, God passes by and 213 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:10,080 you've got the disciples. God passes by, Elijah ends up 214 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,000 whinging. But in Matthew 14 and the fourth 215 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:15,880 watch of the night, Jesus was about to pass by and it says in 216 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,000 verse 26 of Matthew 14, when the disciples saw him walking on the 217 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,840 lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost they said and cried 218 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:23,680 out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to 219 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:27,040 them, take courage. It is I don't be afraid. 220 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,200 Remember Rory said they are 365 times in Scripture that it says 221 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,120 don't be afraid. This is one of them. 222 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,720 And look what happens next in verse 28. 223 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,160 Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you 224 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,640 on the water. Come, he said. 225 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:47,160 Then Peter got down out of the boat walking on the water. 226 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,280 On one hand, you've got a larger where Jesus passes by and he's 227 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,120 whinging on the other side. He got Peter where Jesus passes 228 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,840 by and he's walking on water. In the situation that you're in 229 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,160 and what you are facing, whether it's missiles exploding over 230 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,240 your head or whether it's an affair that you've heard of or 231 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,160 whether it's your finances that are hemorrhaging, there are only 232 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,920 two responses. There is a whinging and a 233 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,120 whining or there is a walking on water. 234 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:18,000 There is a king making process that God wants to call you into 235 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,040 and partner with. He says come and feed on me. 236 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,480 I'm the bread of life. I'm right there in front of you. 237 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:31,040 We don't see him because we're navel gazing and we're comparing 238 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:35,760 and we're complaining when he's calling us to walk on water to 239 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:41,840 never be the same again. He's the bread of life. 240 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,040 He's living water and he's light in the darkness. 241 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,160 In verse 37 of John 7 talking about the living water, it says 242 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,000 on the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and 243 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,840 said in a loud voice that anyone who is thirsty come to me and 244 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,800 drink. Whoever believes in me as 245 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,480 scripture said rivers of living water will flow from within 246 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,240 them. So what's happening here is 247 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,800 Jesus is in the temple courts and they are doing a water 248 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,800 drawing ceremony is basically what they did was run this 249 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,520 celebrations festival on the very last day. 250 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:18,040 The priests would go to the pool of Siloam or Siloam. 251 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:20,720 It's spelled Siloam. So let's call it Siloam. 252 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,600 We go to the pool of Siloam and they would draw water with these 253 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,160 golden jugs and they would come and pour it on the altar of God. 254 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:30,520 And they'd eventually there was so much water being poured on 255 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,480 the altar that it would overflow and is running out of this 256 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,920 Tabernacle and it was into the streets. 257 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,720 And in the middle of that Jesus says I am the living water. 258 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,120 So that's the picture right now put a pin in this. 259 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,520 I just want to unpack how how God dealt with me with this 260 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:52,960 aspect of Christ. So what I was doing when when I 261 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,720 was on the rooftop, I simply went through my Bible reading 262 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,760 plan. I for those of you interested, I 263 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,360 read through Robert Murray Mcshane's Bible reading plan. 264 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,080 It's basically 2 chapters from the Old Testament, 2 from the 265 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:06,680 new every day. And then every now and then 266 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,120 there's a what chapter from Proverbs or from Psalms. 267 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,480 And essentially you get to go through the whole of Scripture 268 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:15,160 in the year. So it's just literally it was it 269 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,440 just so happened that every time there's chapters, it just so 270 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,480 happened that I was in one Kings 19 in the Old Testament right at 271 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,160 the very beginning where I was like properly ready to whinge 272 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,240 and moan and God was saying, OK, you can do that or you can walk 273 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,000 on water with me. And I just so happened to be in 274 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,280 Psalm 46 on one of the days where I read and you probably 275 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:36,160 not be still and know that I'm God. 276 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:37,720 One of my favorite chapters in the Bible. 277 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,400 And it was like God was just calming the storm. 278 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,280 But the thing was, my wife and I, because we happened to be 279 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:45,640 there, because we were on eldership and because we're 280 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,720 known in the community, we had the incredible privilege of not 281 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:51,800 only hanging out with RT from time to time, but we also got to 282 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,480 speak to the elders. And we went to the staff 283 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:57,160 meetings and connected with some of the couples that were really 284 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,040 struggling. And there was a moment that 285 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,600 someone asked me, like, how are you doing? 286 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,160 And I said, no, we're good. You know, today God just really 287 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,160 said, be still and know that I'm God. 288 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,840 And it was very strange because this was a leader in the 289 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:12,880 community. And they've pretty much rolled 290 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:14,560 their eyes, you know, sort of. Yeah. 291 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:17,960 Easy for you to say, you know, you're out of here sometime soon 292 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,600 with. And I was so thrown by that 293 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:22,360 because of the person that I was speaking to. 294 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,680 I'm like, yo, there's such dissonance in that moment. 295 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:28,240 Then I went home and I revisited the song. 296 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:30,720 I've actually never really dug through this. 297 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:32,440 I just, you know, I'll be so, you know that I've got this 298 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,360 lovely, you know, get the tattoo and you move on. 299 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:36,480 But we're not dug. This is what I want to share. 300 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:37,760 What you know. OK, bear with me. 301 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:39,480 You know, this is my my rabbit hole. 302 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,560 So I discovered that Jerusalem, so this is a Psalm written about 303 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:44,800 Jerusalem. And Jerusalem was very unique in 304 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,480 the ancient near East because it was built on a hill. 305 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,200 Most predominant cities were built by a river or a water 306 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:53,560 source. And So what happened was there 307 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,040 was a time in Israel's history where the northern kingdoms set 308 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,280 their sights on Israel. They said, we're coming for you 309 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:03,320 and King Hezekiah, knowing the fact that the water was way down 310 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:08,079 there and also knowing that the king of Assyria's general modus 311 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:11,720 operandi was to besiege a city. So he was as lazy as they come. 312 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,720 He would just bring hundreds of thousands of people surround a 313 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:16,480 city. There's no going in, no going 314 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,800 out. And they just wait until you run 315 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:20,640 out of food and water and then eventually you surrender. 316 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,079 They don't, you know, don't have to shoot an arrow. 317 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,119 So he knows this is coming. And the first thing they're 318 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:28,680 going to run out of is not food but water because there's no 319 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,440 water source in the river. So what Hezekiah does is he 320 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,680 gives you instructions for people to build or dig 321 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:40,760 underground tunnels from the spring of Gayon all the way up 322 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:45,840 to the pool of Siloam. You can't see it because it's 323 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,000 underground. The Assyrian king wouldn't know 324 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,760 that they have a water source, he would just know they are so 325 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,080 far away from the river. This is going to be 3 days and 326 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:55,840 we're back home. Not even a long weekend we 327 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,240 sorted. And then they go on to say the 328 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:02,680 following, said Hezekiah realized, and Hezekiah 329 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,400 implemented this because this meant the enemy could surround 330 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,640 the city, but they would still be living water. 331 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,560 And that meant that the Pool of Siloam became the most important 332 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:18,240 water source in ancient Israel because this capital city was 333 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,640 actually besieged by this king of Assyria. 334 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:22,720 It was surrounded. And they say this. 335 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:24,320 And when I read this, I just went cold. 336 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:28,480 Said he besieged the city. No one could get in and no one 337 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,160 could get out, just like the Middle East. 338 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,600 But they were not defeated because they had access to 339 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:41,320 living water. So let me read you and join all 340 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,040 the dos. Let me read you Psalm 46. 341 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,960 It begins by saying God is our refuge and strength and ever 342 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,960 present help in tons of trouble. Therefore we will not fear that 343 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,040 the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of 344 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:53,480 the sea, though its waters raw and foam, and the mountains 345 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:58,240 quake with the surroundings. Essentially this is a war Psalm. 346 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,640 So Eugene Peterson says that reading Psalms is praying 347 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:06,160 psalms. So the Israelites would memorize 348 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:07,840 this and they would read it and pray it. 349 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,080 So they would call on Psalm 46 and times of war when they were 350 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:16,720 in storms or dark times. And then it says in verse 4, but 351 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,120 there is a river, a river whose streams make glad the city of 352 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:22,440 God. There isn't a river. 353 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:26,960 That river is this underground, unseen tunnel that has been 354 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,440 built. And because it is there, she 355 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:30,800 will not fall. God will help her. 356 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,000 At break of dawn, nations are an uproar. 357 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:34,680 Kingdom's fall. He lifts his voice. 358 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,480 The earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us. 359 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:39,120 The God of Jacob is our fortress. 360 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:41,840 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he's 361 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,520 brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends 362 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,760 of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters 363 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:48,520 the spear. He burns the Shields with fire. 364 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:53,160 And he says, be still and know that I am God. 365 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:54,920 How? How is that possible? 366 00:19:54,920 --> 00:20:02,160 Because there is a river, because there is not built a 367 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:08,440 time of war. But before the battle, before 368 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:13,360 being surrounded, before getting news, before being called into 369 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,480 the boss's office, there was a river. 370 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,640 And when I looked into those hours, I suddenly realized it 371 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,080 wasn't the kickback against the verse Be still and know that I'm 372 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:25,960 God. It was a kickback and a 373 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:31,400 realization. That there wasn't a river and 374 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:38,240 there came a lion, but we could be still and know that he is God 375 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,920 because there was a river. And the river was resourcing us 376 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,960 through the pool of Siloam. And we drank deeply from the 377 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:51,280 living water and we feasted daily from the bread of life, 378 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:54,320 because here's the bread, here's the water, and here's the light. 379 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,840 You know, when I read this and prepping for today, I realized, 380 00:20:58,040 --> 00:20:59,880 hey, we've probably gone full circle. 381 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:03,840 You know, Rory, last week I think I probably wrote it 3 or 4 382 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:08,120 times, came up at Life Group. Are you journeying in the dark 383 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,760 without Jesus? He is the light of life. 384 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,360 And so I'm like, OK, we're on to something here. 385 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:20,520 And the Bible says your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to 386 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:23,400 my path. Jesus is referred to in the very 387 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:28,360 beginning of the book of John as the Word and so it's important 388 00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:30,560 that you not only have his presence. 389 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,360 You're not only spending time and prayer, but that's you 390 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:37,840 actually opening scripture to show you how to navigate what 391 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:39,080 you what is that you're going to? 392 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,320 How do you respond? How do you know that it's a 393 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:45,160 spleen. So I want to tell you our little 394 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,360 journey through the lights. So what did, what had happened 395 00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:53,880 was, yeah, let me start at the beginning, right. 396 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,240 Like this. The day before we were supposed 397 00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,280 to fly out, the missiles hit and now you're sitting there. 398 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:01,760 No one's ever been this way before. 399 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:03,920 You don't know what to do. You can't get out. 400 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,360 The only way is more fearful than anything else. 401 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:11,000 And so we, we just decided, OK, let's let's sort of watch 402 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,240 things. We're not in a rush. 403 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,280 We've got things sorted out with my wife's business back home. 404 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,800 And they chatted to Raw and he said, listen, you know, we we've 405 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,920 got this, just wait it out. But the problem is with war is 406 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:23,880 you don't know. Is it going to get worse or 407 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,960 better by the next week or the weekend? 408 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,360 Yeah, it could be that could be just throwing stones and, you 409 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:34,920 know, moaning and grumbling and just, you know, back on social 410 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,600 media being nasty. Or it could be World War Three. 411 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:40,440 You don't know. So you're sitting and you're 412 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,680 watching and you're trying to soccer analyze all the little 413 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,760 bits and pieces. And they come right up to that 414 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:46,960 line and then they back away. And then they come right up to 415 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,560 that line and then they're back away and then they'll cross that 416 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,400 line. And I don't know if it was 417 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:59,000 Israel or America, but someone bombed the the State Bank in 418 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,680 Iran. And so the general gets online 419 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:07,520 and says, OK, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, if that's how you want 420 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:08,720 to play, we're going to do the same. 421 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,880 Then they announced, they said, listen, what we actually, we 422 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,840 advise that if you're in a kilometer radius of anything to 423 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,360 do with the the nation's economy, where you're at, 424 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:22,320 whether you're in Oman or the UAE or Saudi or Qatar or Bahrain 425 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,240 or whatever, all the baddies with the guns. 426 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:25,800 He said. If you're within a kilometer 427 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,920 radius of anything to do with the economic processes within 428 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,520 your nation says evacuate because we are coming for you. 429 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:37,040 And they came and it was like escalation like no one expected. 430 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:40,440 And so then the conversation changed. 431 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,600 We just happened to be sitting with a couple we had gone across 432 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,680 just to spend time with them. They're in a really tough space. 433 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,120 And my wife and I had an incredible opportunity just to 434 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:52,520 minister and pray. And I get a phone call on the 435 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:56,920 back of this new unleashing of strategy. 436 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:01,720 And Adrian and Luther and John were there with us in the Middle 437 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:03,200 East. And the phone, they said, 438 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,200 listen, what are your thoughts about getting out via Saudi 439 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:10,240 Arabia? I'm like, yes, I've watched, 440 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:17,040 yeah, some movies. I know about Saudi Arabia, some 441 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:21,600 swords and camels. So I'm like, I have my wife with 442 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:23,120 you. Yeah, I know. 443 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:24,880 You actually boys, is like, let's do this. 444 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,240 So. Well, speak to her. 445 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:32,200 So if you want to come, we found a space on the plane that leaves 446 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,000 tomorrow morning from Riyadh, 3:00 AM. 447 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,840 But it means we need to leave in 90 minutes. 448 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:41,000 Yeah. I just love making high pressure 449 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,120 decisions like that when your life is at risk. 450 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,440 So I hang up and I'm like, numb. My mind is racing. 451 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,400 So say share with Catherine. She's like, well, let's let's 452 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,360 just get the process going. But we're on the other side of 453 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:55,960 the city because you basically you do these movements and then 454 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:57,360 they bomb the daylights out of you. 455 00:24:57,360 --> 00:24:59,320 And then you do a little bit of moments, you bomb the daylights 456 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,040 and you wait for all clear. And then you quickly go, hey, 457 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,040 but the guys that we were with couldn't care, climbed in the 458 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:06,240 car. We broke the speed limit. 459 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:08,600 You know, it's like there were fireworks in the sky and there 460 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:09,960 were flashes from all the cameras. 461 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,480 You know, it was paparazzi. So we rushed back and we're 462 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:15,680 like, OK, are we going to do this? 463 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,200 So a whole bunch of things that we needed to do. 464 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,800 Firstly, we needed to book tickets, which was an absolute 465 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,880 nightmare because my phone had died halfway through the 466 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:26,680 journey. And I tried to get a new phone, 467 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,280 but you're in another country and you can't get your SIM card 468 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:31,360 swapped. And so I wasn't able to get OTPS 469 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,680 and I'd Max my credit card. So I was trying to get money out 470 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,760 of bond into the credit card so I could buy plane tickets. 471 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,400 And then there was this random stranger named Michael who 472 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:40,240 started phoning me. You know, when you're waiting 473 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:44,640 for that data package to work And this I'm like, hang up and 474 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,760 then first again, like hang up and then first again hang up. 475 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:50,200 And then we, before we buy those, while we're buying those 476 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,120 stickers, we also need to make sure that we can get to Riyadh. 477 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:55,360 So you've got to organize a transfer. 478 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,200 And so we're chatting to someone and I'm phoning AD, he's phoning 479 00:25:58,200 --> 00:25:59,320 me. And he said, listen, we found 480 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,720 someone that's going to cost us like 32 grand for Kath and I to 481 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:07,040 get to just like driving over this 10 hours drive but in a war 482 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,160 zone. But it's 32,000 Rand. 483 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:12,920 Well, and he's saying, but we need to get make sure we have 484 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:14,640 tickets because it's kind of pointless getting all the way 485 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:15,520 there. And then you arrive at the 486 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:17,360 airport and you don't have a plane ticket and planes are full 487 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:18,720 because everyone's fleeing in the Middle East. 488 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:23,440 So make sure that you make a call and this driver, and then 489 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:25,480 I'll Scroll down and I'll see the fine prints. 490 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,400 The guy says, you know what? This only guarantees that we'll 491 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,000 take you to the border, then you'll disembark and there will 492 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,120 be a taxi waiting for you on the other side. 493 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,840 You know, and what I didn't realize was that there are 4 494 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,280 border posts about 5 kilometers in distance from the one side to 495 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,520 the other side. Can you imagine me and my wifey 496 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:46,320 with our Gucci suitcases going through sitting here? 497 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,240 And then you get on the other side and that guy's long gone 498 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:56,760 with your 32,000 Rand. And while I'm trying to figure 499 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,280 this thing out, this phone is ringing nonstop. 500 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,120 I get a phone call from the guy who was leading the church that 501 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,400 we were hosted by. And he's saying he's like this 502 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,880 proper Mountain Lion man of faith. 503 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,640 And he's saying, but I really think this is the only gap that 504 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:11,640 you're going to get because it is getting worse. 505 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,000 You know, it's only 90 minutes and then you're out of here and 506 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,920 your journey started. He said, I think it's a good 507 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:18,600 idea. But the people that we're 508 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,640 staying with are saying, listen, please, I don't want you to feel 509 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:22,280 any pressure. And we're happy to. 510 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:24,440 You can stay as long as you need to. 511 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,800 Don't make this decision based on us. 512 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,520 And then he says, and if you do decide to go, would you mind 513 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:31,920 taking my 8 year old mom with you? 514 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,080 And so that's all happening. And then Adrian is phoning me 515 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:37,400 and he's like the sky is falling. 516 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:39,560 The sky is falling here. I'm looking at my wife's eyes 517 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,080 and she's saying, baby, I will follow you wherever you choose 518 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:48,640 to go. And my heart is saying stop. 519 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,680 So eventually I close everything I said to my wife, I'm on the 520 00:27:55,680 --> 00:28:03,800 roof and I got see because about 10 days before that, and it's 521 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,000 too long to tell the detail, but God, I felt, God said to me, 522 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,760 this was a Tuesday. About 10 days before that, I'd 523 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:13,440 felt God say that we would only be released from this the coming 524 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:18,920 Thursday, Friday of the week. I'd really felt that God said if 525 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,080 you go anytime before, you're going to be missing out, you 526 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,080 know? And then came a line and Stephen 527 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:25,840 ran. It's like there's something I 528 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,360 want to do in you. So I'm looking at the the 529 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,640 Thursday, Friday word that I'd felt like 10 days ago. 530 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:34,760 But I'm also hearing from these church leaders who were saying, 531 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,560 come, come, come. We've got 90 minutes, we've got 532 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,560 to go. And then there's this chop who 533 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,160 just keeps phoning me every time I'm trying to hear from God, you 534 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,520 know? Anyway, so I go outside, I leave 535 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,520 everything behind. I'm just like, Lord, I don't 536 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,800 know what to do. Put my eyes on you. 537 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,560 There's quiet in the storm and I walk back in and I'll pick up my 538 00:28:53,560 --> 00:29:01,680 phone and the top I finally decided to WhatsApp me says, hi, 539 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:07,120 my name is Michael. When I'm in South Africa, I come 540 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:12,120 to three CR. I live and work in Riyadh, Saudi 541 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,360 Arabia that has an airport that you're wanting to reach. 542 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:20,120 Said how can I help? Said, do you need transfers? 543 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,840 Do you need plane tickets? Can you please pick up the 544 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:29,360 phone? So I'm like, hi, random citizen. 545 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:34,480 My name is Stephen. And what Michael says to me is 546 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,400 he says I can hop in the car. It's big enough to take all of 547 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,360 you. I'll drive there, pick you up, 548 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,720 bring you all the way. So I'm like, and how much is 549 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,560 that going to cost? But in the Middle East, water is 550 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:49,920 more expensive than fuel. It's like it will cost you 551 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:51,200 nothing. I'm like, really? 552 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:52,960 See, I'll go through this border often. 553 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:54,400 I know exactly what you need to do. 554 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:56,640 He walks us through that. And then he says, would you like 555 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:58,920 me to help you buy those plane tickets? 556 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,240 Send me your passports. I'll get my people to get you 557 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:03,560 the ticket. And he says, and if we get there 558 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:06,200 and there's any delays, we've got a partners that we can put 559 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,800 you up at and we will see you out of here. 560 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,760 How could you not? And so he did just that. 561 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,840 But the best thing about it was he says he's looked. 562 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,880 So the tickets that we're wanting to get, we're not going 563 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:24,120 to be able to get onto that. He says the first you'll be able 564 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:30,720 to get out will be Friday. So Michael climbs in the car, 565 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:36,360 drives whatever 10 hours, crosses the border, comes and 566 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,360 fetches us. And I kid you not, he arrives. 567 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:42,000 He opens up the boot to put in our bags closet, and we go. 568 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:43,680 I'm like, do you want to sleep? Do you want to shower? 569 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,240 Do you want lunch? He's like, no, I'm good. 570 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,120 And he drives us 10 hours all the way through to Riyadh. 571 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:52,360 Now we were supposed to get there by midnight because the 572 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,800 flight is leaving at 3:00 AM. But on the drive, we found out 573 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,480 that it was delayed by 4 hours. So he says, no problem, I'll 574 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,920 take you to the church house. All right, good. 575 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:04,200 They're going to pop in at the church house. 576 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,960 Not what church, just Christianity is illegal in Saudi 577 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,280 Arabia. So yeah, we got an underground 578 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:14,360 church. So we popped in to this 579 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:16,440 underground church. We arrived there. 580 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,520 The people that lead us to Mark and his mates have planted this 581 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:22,760 church. A year ago, we arrived there and 582 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,040 we get this pot of biryani. And I'm, I'm sorry, but it was, 583 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:30,040 it was better than, but I think it was because we were in war, 584 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,640 you know, free biryani, you can't compete. 585 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:38,400 But this massive pot of Brianna. And because we were there a 586 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,240 little bit earlier, he hired apartments for us to stay for 587 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:44,520 the night. And so we got to bed at about 588 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,240 midnight. He sought to drive, I think it 589 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,120 was like 45 minutes to his place. 590 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,840 And then he was back another 45 minutes to come and fetch us to 591 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,920 be at the airport by 4:00 AM. And then it just so happened to 592 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,320 spell you the details. But when we got there, they 593 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,400 said, no, it wasn't delayed. You've already missed your 594 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:01,880 flight. And so he was arranging, we were 595 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,520 going to a different terminal. I know you just got to love this 596 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,960 faith journey. You know, this is lions 597 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,080 everywhere. And so eventually we get there, 598 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:13,040 we get in the queue and he goes and he buys everybody coffees 599 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,560 and their friends. And then he's stuffing money 600 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,120 into our pockets and saying, listen, on the other side, it's 601 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:21,280 very expensive. Well, no, you can't do this. 602 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:23,440 And I was just just give me your bank account details. 603 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:24,720 Give me your bank account details. 604 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:26,640 We land in South Africa and I sent a message. 605 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:31,200 I said because of what you have done for my wife and I at 606 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,680 church, I want to cover all the costs, plane tickets, travel, 607 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:36,960 accommodation, food and everything like that. 608 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:46,400 I want to land. I want to show you some of the 609 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:48,640 things because we're talking about Jesus being the light. 610 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:55,680 So I wake up that morning about to take my wife into Saudi 611 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,920 Arabia, and I'm still there's, there's still a bit of a storm. 612 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:03,080 I'm like, I know this is like way beyond coincidence, all 613 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:05,280 these bits and pieces that have fallen into place. 614 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:09,000 But I wake up that morning and I want to show you a picture of my 615 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,240 Bible because it just so happened that Robert Murray 616 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,920 McShane, I think he lived in the 1800s or the 1700s, said, OK, I 617 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:20,640 need to read Daniel chapter 10. So if you zoom in on that, we're 618 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,520 going to. So that's my Bible reading plan 619 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:26,040 for the morning. Now, I'd only noticed this after 620 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:30,040 I sent the AV team this picture. That's how it starts. 621 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,480 Then he continued, do not be afraid. 622 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,480 And then, says Daniel, since the first say that you set your mind 623 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,160 to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, 624 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,840 your words were heard and I've come in response to them. 625 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:47,880 But the Prince of the Persian Kingdom resisted me 21 days, 626 00:33:48,920 --> 00:34:02,440 then Michael, then Michael and Michael, Lord, I've never met 627 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:04,840 this garb and he's going to take me into Saudi. 628 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,560 Then Michael, one of the chief Princess came to help me because 629 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:11,840 I was detained there with the king of Persia. 630 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:16,280 And now you know me. I like my rabbit holes. 631 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,560 So I'm like King of Persia, if you have your phone, pick up 632 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:23,239 your phone. I know you have your phone. 633 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:32,280 Hey, Siri, where would the Persian Empire be located today? 634 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:37,560 What does your phone say? Iran? 635 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,080 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my beautiful 636 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:50,840 Lord. We've been detained 21 days 637 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,600 because of the King of Iran, Prince of Persia. 638 00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:56,440 So this is OK Michael's coming. But here's the crazy thing. 639 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,880 I was telling the story to Nico, and he pointed something out to 640 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:03,200 me that I hadn't seen before. He's like, do you realize that 641 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,040 God had answered your prayer before you even prayed it? 642 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,360 So I was sitting there, Michael, stop phoning me. 643 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,640 I need to go and pray. And God's like, I'm sending you 644 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:23,320 the answer to the pray. Can you stop calling man then 645 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,480 Michael, there's one last thing that I want to drop in. 646 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:28,480 We're not going to show it online for those who are 647 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,640 watching on the stream because it is illegal. 648 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:35,080 I want to show you the name of the church in Saudi Arabia who 649 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:42,400 sent Michael to fetch us. You can't script this. 650 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:52,440 And then came a lion. We will face lions. 651 00:35:52,960 --> 00:36:00,160 God will ask you, Elijah, Stephen, Rob, Suzanne, Kathy, 652 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,000 Antoinette, what are you doing here? 653 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:09,160 If there is the bread of life in our lives, If there's living 654 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:13,000 water flooding through the city even though we're surrounded, 655 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:16,280 His word will be a lamp to our feet and a lot to our path. 656 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:20,400 And because of that, because we laid a hold of Him, when He 657 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:22,920 passes us by, we won't be those whinging. 658 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:30,200 We'll be those walking on water. The most important thing about 659 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:35,880 you is your quiet time. It is your Ground Zero with your 660 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:40,960 relationship with your Heavenly Father, and I want to encourage 661 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:45,360 you to dig deep. Dig those tunnels in the private 662 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:50,800 place, feast on Him and let His Word be a lot to your path, lent 663 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:51,200 to your feet.